Tug is one of many dogs' favourite games to play, but there's a lot of suggestions going around that tug games are bad for your dog and can encourage aggression and other bad behaviours.
I'm here to tell you that's not true!
Tug is a great game for dogs of all ages, sizes, breeds, and temperaments! Here's why...
Tug is Fun!
Your dog’s natural instincts are to tug and pull, and when you’re involved in the game too! Even better!
Your dog’s number one favourite thing to do, is to spend time with you! So when you’re spending that time doing a favourite game of theirs, that’s a great way to bond with them.
It’s incredibly common for us humans to multitask when we are busy. Unfortunately, it’s really common for our dogs to be on the receiving end of this. Meaning that often when we give our dogs attention, we aren’t giving our full attention. This typically creates an attention seeking dog. However, with a tug game, it’s difficult to not give your undivided attention!
As a bonus, a better bond with you means more confidence for your dog!
Tug is natural!
Dogs have many instinctual behaviours, including;
Exploring the world with their mouth
Playing by mouthing
Tugging and pulling with their mouth
One of the biggest mistakes I see as a dog trainer is owners trying to stop instinct behaviours. Not only is this near impossible, but it often ends up creating other unwanted behaviour problems, such as nipping or barking.
If you can instead, use the tug game to let your dog use that urge to mouth, then they will be less likely to use their mouth in unwanted ways (nipping, chewing, etc.)📲🏛
At the end of the day, dogs will find ways to use their mouth. It’ll be either positive playing games such as tug, or unwanted ways. I know which I’d pick!
Tug is Training!
Not only will your dog enjoy the play and the fun, they can also enjoy learning, and tug is a fantastic game for training!
There are two ways you can integrate training into tug; one, as a reward, and two, as training itself.
If your dog loves to play tug, whether it came naturally or it was taught, this is a really fun game to use as a reward! I’ve helped tons of dogs build up and incredible recall using their favourite tug toy as a reward! Or perhaps you want to teach your dog to focus on you in a distracting environment? Tug works well here too!
However, you can add the training into the game itself, which can help with impulse control amongst other things. My favourite way to do this is to play tug, then stop and ask for your dog to ‘leave it / drop it’, then once they have they get the tug game back again! For the pro trainees, add a behaviour or two in (sit, paw, roll over, etc.) before they get their toy back!
This is a great game for helping dogs calm and settle themselves down and / or concentrate when they are in ‘play mode’!
So the answer is YES! Tug is a fantastic game for your dog to play, so have fun!
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